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Topic: First hive (Read 3655 times)

My very first hive is almost ready, but I have a couple of questions about the top bars.I followed the original instructions and my bars are 24mm X 9mm X long enough to slot into the rebate with a little bit of wriggle room.My questions are: is there any need to positively locate the top bars in any way?

And I saw a YouTube video showing the making of beeswax strips about 1inch wide which were put into groves in the top bar as a foundation. Is there any advantage to doing this?I was wondering if just the groove in the top bar with wax melted into it might have the same encouraging effect on the bees.

Neil - Not sure what you mean by "positively locate" your top bars. If you mean to secure them in place, then no, not really. The bees will glue them in pretty well, which you'll need to break free to do inspections, manipulations, etc.

With respect to your other question, there's a wide range of opinions about how to best prepare the bars for the bees to draw proper comb. While some use nothing at all, most agree that some sort of guide is important to have. Choices are many, from melting beeswax onto a string stretched down the center of the bar, to cutting a groove down the bar and filling that with any of melted wax, Popsicle sticks, wax foundation, etc., to milling the bar itself so that it tapers down to a point (sort of like an upside down triangle when viewed from the end). I took length of cove moulding and fixed them to the bars. I'll see how well that works in about a month when my package moves in.

My very first hive is almost ready, but I have a couple of questions about the top bars.I followed the original instructions and my bars are 24mm X 9mm X long enough to slot into the rebate with a little bit of wriggle room.My questions are: is there any need to positively locate the top bars in any way?

And I saw a YouTube video showing the making of beeswax strips about 1inch wide which were put into groves in the top bar as a foundation. Is there any advantage to doing this?I was wondering if just the groove in the top bar with wax melted into it might have the same encouraging effect on the bees.

Sorry I can't post the direct links.

What type of hive did you build? If it's a horizontal top bar there is no need to secure the bars. If its a warre you can just use little tacks to make sure the bars stay put and preserve the space between bars until the bees glue them in. I use spacers in my warres and it works well.

How you prepar the bars is really personal opinion. I use a groove in the bar and melt wax into it for my warres and for my top bar I have a wedge on the bottom for the bars that I cover with melted wax. Both methods have worked well for me.

Beeswax strips for Warré top bar beehives this is the title on youtube link I think one of you are talking KTBH a Kenya Top BarThis is your full addressBeeswax strips for Warré top bar beehives###############################################2nd addressWasatch Warre - Frame Spacing Also a Warre' Hive That is being discussed The other posts are both Kenya TBHAnd Warre' They are NOT the same Wasatch Warre - Frame Spacing

Sorry to be so vague.I'm building a Warre hive, and as you can see from the second video the top bars are positively located with small nails. And the fist video shows using wax strips as a foundation on the bars. Are either of these steps nessesary? :?

The gap between the bars is very important as that is how the bees will move from box to box. I just use little spacers between bars without attaching the bars themselves. That seems to work really well for me. As far as wax, I cut a groove once saw blade wide down the center of the bar. I then fill that groove with wax and that works well in my Warre hives.

Thanks for that.I made a grove on each bar as you said, and I'll pick up some wax this week.One final question. In all the literature about the Warre hive they say use burlap on the quilt. Has anyone used fiberglass or aluminum window screen?As both are inert, and I can get screening far easier than burlap, could anyone foresee any problems?

I drill 1/16 holes in the top bar and into the rabbet in the box and then align them with #18/1" nails. It keeps them in place while you manipulate the boxes during spring installation and they are easy to remove for the fall harvest.

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I know you think you understand what you thought I said I meant but what you heard is not what I said.

Yes, I have used screen on the warre hives. The first issue is that the bees will chew the fiberglass screen so aluminum is best for use. I use a piece of aluminum screen cut to lay over the top bars on the upper most box. I still use burlap for the quilt as that is supposed to help with wicking away moisture from the hive. I have found that the screen works better than the flour coated burlap as my bees kept chewing the flour burlap and then the quilt causing wood chips to end up in the hive. Once I switched to screen they no longer chewed through and ventilation seems to be good. I haven't seen my bees bearding and there are not any moisture problems in my hives.

Those are pretty neat videos, but personally I think all that work is overkill. All they need is a straight guide in the middle of your bars as a reference. That can be a piece of molding, 1 inch strips of foundation, a glued in popsicle stick, etc. The bees can attach the wax to the bars far better than we can, so I wouldnt go through the trouble of doing it for them and it being a potential fail point.

Wasatch Warre - Frame Spacing Also a Warre' Hive That is being discussed The other posts are both Kenya TBHAnd Warre' They are NOT the same Wasatch Warre - Frame Spacing

Tommyt

At 1.03 he say 12mm is the same as 3/8" it is not 1" is about 25.4 mm more like 8.5 mm just my $0.02

BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

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